Lakeland 200 Kit List

I rode the Lakeland 200 during the Covid summer of 2020. I was still figuring out what I needed & didn’t for bikepacking trips. Some might say my Lakeland 200 kit list was overkill for a summer night in the UK, as I write this years late, I’d agree! At the time however, I didn’t know any better – I just used what I had.

Ordinarily, I do bikepacking trips on my gravel bike. It’s a rigid frame, so no suspension or dropper seat post, meaning I can fit frame bags and saddle bags & generally more kit on the bike. Whereas I tend to use the enduro bike for quick overnighters; summit camps & morning descents, when kit can be completed stripped back.

For the Lakeland 200, I used the enduro bike simply due to the steep & technical terrain. A hardtail would’ve been perfect – I don’t own a hardtail – so the enduro bike was my only option. Riding wise, it’s the perfect bike for this route, but fitting bikepacking kit is less than ideal.

Clothing

• Riding kit that was both comfortable & functional.
• Warm layer – summer days are hot, but overnights on the summits can be cool.
• Waterproof layer. UK weather is fickle – you can start in glorious sunshine, but be in a downpour within a matter of hours.
• I always pack a set of evening clothes allowing me to get out of my riding kit at the end of each day – it’s well worth carrying, as is a spare pair of socks for hygiene and comfort reasons!

Maintenance

Keeping yourself moving on a bikepacking trip is essential. Obviously you can’t carry an entire toolbox or fix everything – but there’s a lot of basics you should be familiar with to get yourself to the nearest repair station (alpkit have a decent blog on this, as do Neil & Harriet Pike, authors of the ACTH – an invaluable resource!).

Typical repairs may include; fixing a puncture, bodging wheel spokes, replacing brake pads, broken derailleur requiring derailleur to be removed & reducing chainsize to ride singlespeed.
It’s also worth noting drivetrains collect a lot of dirt & after a few days, build-up of shit can lead to grating and damaging parts. Keeping things clean & lubricated is essential and one those tasks that you absolutely have to keep on top of.
Remember, if you don’t know how to use it or repair it, it’s not worth taking!

• Tubes x2
• tubeless plugs
• Multitool
• Chain splitter
• Pump (Shock pump)
• Spare brake pads
• Chain link

As well as keeping the bike moving, keeping yourself moving is equally important. Especially when riding off road – accidents happen, so a first aid kit should be essential. A spot tracker is also worth looking into if signal is going to be patchy.

Sleeping

Probably the most debatable aspect of any kit list. Tent or tarp or bivvy?

My general rule is tent on longer trips, bivvy on 1-2 night trips – I use an Outdoor Research Helium bivvy, its hooped & also has bug-proof mesh net option. Normally I don’t set out on a short trip unless the forecast is good, so the bivvy is usually enough protection & can also be laid out just about anywhere – however I do sometimes use the bivvy in conjunction with a tarp to provide a little more shelter for cooking etc. in wet weather.

Carrying both a bivvy and a tarp then prompts the question, ‘why not just carry a small tent?’. Tarps aren’t freestanding, unlike a bivvy, so a bit of thought needs to go into how/where to pitch – same applies to some tents too.

As for sleeping bags, I used a 3 season Rab Ascent 700. Not the smallest or lightest, but a perfect all year round bag for UK use. I would like a much smaller and lighter summer bag however.

As for sleeping pad, my Exped SynMat HL is spot on, small, light, easy to inflate, not crinkly, comfy & its tapered to fit inside a bivvy.

Cooking System

Again, very much dependant on location and duration.

• For shorter trips, I will use my Primus Lite+. It’s great for boiling water for coffee & fits a dehydrated meal in too.
• For longer trips, where more variety in cooking is required, I’ll use my MSR Whisperlite multifuel stove in conjunction with a pan set. Always worth taking two means of ignition – I carry both a flint and a lighter.

As for water, it’s something I haven’t completed cracked yet – I often end up carrying a 10l pack with a 2l hydration reservoir as well as an MSR trailshot water filter.

There are hydration reservoirs which fits inside a frame pack – and a general trend seems to be leaning towards trail running type hydration vests.

Electronics

I try to keep this simple. The idea of bikepacking is to escape the digital world! Typically I will carry a GPS (Wahoo Elemnt Roam), lights/head torch, phone, camera & battery pack.

As for charging things, it differs between which bike I use. My gravel bike has a dynamo front hub coupled with a USB output device so I can charge things whilst riding. My mountain bike doesn’t, but a decent powerbank is enough to keep me powered through a weekend, charging things each evening/morning.

Don’t forget the right cables for each device!